IN THE MIX

MINING COOPER HEWITT’S VAST COLLECTION, MUSEUM DIRECTOR MARIA NICANOR FOREGROUNDS 30 CENTURIES OF GREAT DESIGN FOR THE PUBLIC

SAM COCHRAN

The street may be gritty and the building unassuming, but inside this confidential address, not far from New York City, a repository of wonders awaits. There are icons of Danish Modernism, American Arts and Crafts, and the Memphis movement. There are precious antiques and everyday relics, among them dishware, gadgets, and appliances of every era. And there are exquisite feats of craft in all imaginable mediums, silver to ceramic, plastic to porcelain. It’s a true Aladdin’s cave of the decorative arts—and it’s all part of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, which maintains the space for off-site storage and conservation. “All of these items are time capsules of the moment, the person, the society,” says Maria Nicanor, the museum’s director since 2022. “We go back to these vaults as a source…

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Architectural Digest (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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